22/01/2016 Politics Europe


22/01/2016

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Welcome to Politics Europe. Your regular guide to the top stories in

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Brussels, Strasbourg, and around Europe. The migrant crisis has

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bought the European Union at grave risk, says the French Prime

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Minister. Can the borderless Schengen zone survive? We are

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looking at strange relations with the new government of Poland.

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Critics say it is antidemocratic. David Cameron continues to press EU

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leaders for reforms to Britain's membership. And we have been Tobruk

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arrest for a tour of the biggest parliament building in the world. --

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to Bucharest. All that to come and more in the next half-an-hour.

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First, this week, members of the European Parliament have been

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meeting in Strasbourg for their regular sessions. What have they

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been getting up to? What has been happening around Europe? Here is the

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guide in just 20 seconds. In the week, the world economic forum means

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Germany as the best economic country in the world is to live in. But

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Angela Merkel faced more pressure over her policy with refugee. --

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world. Multilateral and international sanctions related to

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Iraq's nuclear programme are lifted. The EU steel industry cannot

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survive on public funds to survive, but, Chinese measures have not been

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dumped. Wants while and sets out a plan to lift France from a state of

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economic emergency. -- Francois Hollande. The EU criminal database

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is to include non- EU citizens to stop a Paris-style attack. And in

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the UK, 10 million homes received free Europe leaflets to vendors.

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Many kindly said they might return to sender. -- their doors. And

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I'm joined by Timothy Kirkhope and Tim Aker. Welcome to both of you.

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Manuel Valls says there is still a lot of work to do. But the Prime

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Minister has made a lot of progress. Really? I talk to people

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in Europe everyday. The feedback is very positive. In which areas?

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Especially in relation to freedom of movement. That is tricky. That has

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to be sorted out. He is making progress. Especially on the question

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of terms like ever closer union. That is making progress on the right

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kind of terms and agreements. Which way will you vote? I will see what

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the Prime Minister comes back with. If he can give us a positive

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outcome, and I am more confident that he will, I will support

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remaining. But for now, you would vote out? No, too I would wait to

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see. -- I would wait. It isn't just what Britain can get out of this

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deal, it is what happens from then on. If the other countries in Europe

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will take part in the process, that has to be good news for Europe and

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ourselves. If people like Timothy Kirkhope are being persuaded by this

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renegotiation process, you aren't going to his the many Conservatives

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back like him voting for Brexit. Sitting on the fence is bad for your

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help. I remember asking you last year why David Cameron is not

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renegotiating freedom of movement, you said it was the least of the

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many people are saying one thing at home and seeing a different thing in

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European Parliament. -- silly. He has not said anything about this.

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The ?20 billion we gave to the EU every year, about stopping that,

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there is no change in. It is shadowboxing. Will it be in June?

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The sooner the better. But Jim is wrong on some of the things he has

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said that the EU passports? -- Tim. It takes eight years in Italy to get

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a passport. Five here. You don't need your facts. That hasn't helped

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migration. We will talk about immigration zone. The EU is in the

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grip of a migrant crisis and it isn't about to go away. This week

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the IMF predicted 1.3 million migrants could arrive in Europe

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every year. Manuel Valls has warned that Europe's migration crisis poses

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a direct threat to the future of the EU. There is evidence that Schengen,

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the passport free travel zone in the EU that the UK is not part of, is

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already unravelling. They are introducing border controls to stop

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those refugees getting through. In August last year, Hungary built a

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fence along the border with non- Schengen country, Serbia, stopping

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the railway used as a key stopping points. Similar things were done in

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Austria. Then Germany did so with Austria. The next day, Slovakia

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placed 220 police officers on it's borders with Hungary and Austria.

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The Netherlands temporarily reinstated border controls with

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Germany. -- its. In October, Hungary built a razor-wire fence along the

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border with Slovenia. At the beginning of the year, Sweden had

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checks on a bridge linking the country with Denmark. Denmark

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imposed order controls with Germany. Were joined by the Labour MEP, chair

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of the European Parliament's justice and fair committee. Shang is dead?

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It is in deep trouble. Manuel Valls is right to say this is a deep

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crisis. -- Shengen. But, what is problematic is that it is only the

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big countries with assets to do things about it. When he says the

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EU, the EU has limited assets. It isn't a big military agency. It is a

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bunch of civilians doing a job on minimum budget. It is the big

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countries that can do things. Whatever your view of the migration

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crisis, whether you in -- you think Germany is doing well. For example,

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the relocation on the boarded-up map whatever your view, it is the

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countries like France that will have to do something now to create

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integrity on the external border and to organise a compassionate

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response. Yeah. There is no other way out of this. Even if Germany had

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not done that we would have had a crisis of. Would it have been on

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this scale? Let me tell you... 80% of refugees in Turkey are living

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outside camps. -- crisis. Even if it was helping us now they would not be

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able to help. Wood quotas have been and efficient way to deal with this?

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-- Would. Let's say we would have still had large numbers of people

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coming from the Middle East and parts of North Africa. -- an. Quotas

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would have meant a regulated system that each country in the EU would

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have taken a proportion of number of migrants and then the Dublin

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agreement, where asylum seekers and refugees have to cosine in the

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country they arrived at, and Chang in would have continued to

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function. -- Schengen. We need to maintain basic principles we seem to

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have lost. I don't know if should be dismantled. I don't know. But I am

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saying, I don't think so. --. We need the nuts and bolts right. We

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need people who arrive at the external borders... We aren't part

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of Schengen... By the external borders are important to us. Can

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Greece and Italy cope with those numbers? No. They need more

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resources. That is what we would propose. Once they have helped there

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should be no question about maintaining that principle. The

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first safe country has to be the country that processes applications,

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otherwise it is chaotic. That is what has go on with a lack of

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resolve from other countries. Do you agree that the Dublin agreement

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should stay what? --. If your house is on fire you go to the first house

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to call for the emergency services, not down the street. The country is

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getting this influx are because the German Chancellor said come in, come

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in. Germany should pay up. Keana Grey with Yvette Cooper that it

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should be dismantled? --. There is broad agreement about Dublin. --.

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The condition they are talking about, scrapping Dublin, there is

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broad agreement here because it is natural to claim in the first

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country you are right in. If you take that away you need to replace

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it with some things. At the moment, they aren't coming up with that.

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What Yvette Cooper is saying is that it is now de facto. But, these

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freedoms are the heart of European matters. There is no point of saying

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it is dead without saying... Without it, is that the end or the beginning

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of the end of the EU? That is what Manuel Valls said. I disagree. I

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don't want that because I think it is valuable. The point about

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Schengen is that it has always had the ability to reintroduce borders.

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That is what some of the countries are doing. We come back to the nuts

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and bolts of Dublin. They were high ideas for a new agreement. That

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isn't coming until March. I am surprised about the speculation

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about Dublin. It isn't decided at all. I am convinced about the basic

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rentable of people being dealt with in the first safe country, it will

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be maintained. Even if Germany and Angela Merkel had not said,

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refugees, you are all welcome here, would we be in a totally different

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situation to the current one? There has been movements across different

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European states for border controls to be reinstated. But there is a

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crisis in the EU over free movement. Items deal waiting to see why David

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Cameron will negotiate free movement. --. I want to know what he

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thinks and why he isn't taking an opportunity... It is a basic

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principle. In normal certain starters, through trade and exchange

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of services and skills, it is absolutely vital for British

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interests. -- circumstances. People say once they are in the area, and I

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don't know how long it takes to get citizenship then they are free to

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move anywhere else. Refugees do not have freedom of movement. Remember

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that. All these refugees were being frightened about with scaremongering

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nonsense. Scaremongering! They cannot have free movement now with

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the refugees. That is not an issue. We will have to stop there for a

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moment the please stay with us. Relations between the EU and Poland,

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they have soured over controversial media and reforms introduced by the

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new government in Warsaw. -- moment. The party swept to power in

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elections last year. This week, the Polish Prime Minister was caused to

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Strasbourg to explain herself to MEPs at their monthly meeting.

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What could possibly make you think Poland's new PM doesn't fight the

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freedom of the media? PM, would you like the EU to butt out? PM? There

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have been protests in Poland because the government has sacked a lot of

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stuff from the state broadcaster, and appointed a load of sympathetic

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new judges to the Constitutional Court. European Commission is now

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investigating, using new powers to check that member states are

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upholding the rule of law. Let me show you how heat of this issue has

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become. Look at the front cover of this Polish news magazine, showing

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various senior figures from the EU, Martin Shultz and Angela Merkel,

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dressed as Nazis. In the Strasbourg chamber, the PM of Poland used it to

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make a case for her reforms. Our fathers and grandfathers gave their

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blood for our freedom, for us to be part of a united Europe. But they

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also spilt blood for the freedom of other European nations. For many

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decades we had to fight for the right to speak our own opinions, to

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fight the right to build our own state. We achieved that, and we not

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have that taken away. Her main tormentor was the leader of the

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Liberal group, who raised the spectre of Vladimir Putin. The truth

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is that Mr Putin does not like European unity. He wants to destroy

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European unity, and what is happening in Poland could help him.

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The man from the commission tried to sound calm, tried to... All members

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of the European Union have signed off their own tree will and ratified

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by the national parliaments European treaties. Thus entering into

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obligations as far as maintaining the rule of law is concerned. But,

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what about the party's Parliamentary allies, the British Conservatives?

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It is strange that they choose this particular issue, for example, when

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the growth pact was broken, they didn't use this. When Greece didn't

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play its role of defending borders, they didn't do this. But suddenly we

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have a Eurosceptic government and they decide to use this. For

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supporters of the Polish government outside, some who travel by bus for

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16 hours for this, it is a question of where power lies, with the EU

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institutions or with individual member states. How did it go, PM? If

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the commission rules that she is at the undemocratically, she faces the

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prospect of losing her right to vote at future summits. And she still

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wouldn't answer my questions, even the nice ones. The minister, did you

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have a good trip to Strasbourg? Well done for trying, Adam. Doesn't

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the EU have a right to investigate and look at what is going on in

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Poland? It does, it can have its say like any democratic chamber, but I

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think there is something untoward about dragging an elected PM to the

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European Parliament to put them on the naughty step and say, don't do

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this! The European Union has had its problems with democracy. We have

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asked countries to vote again sometimes, so maybe it should get

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its own house in order before lecturing other member states.

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Except all member states have signed up to the idea that the commission

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can investigate whether countries are upholding the rule of law, and

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it seems there are claims that the Law and Justice Party in Poland are

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threatening the rule of law and democracy. Does that mean you have a

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right to do what it is doing? The commission always has a right to

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investigate any allegations about treaties. So you supported? No, what

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I say is this, Poland is one of the most lively democracy is now. Since

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it flew off the autocracy of the Soviet Union and become independent,

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it has developed politics in a lively way. The last party in power

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certainly did not like the new party hitting an absolute charity. Since

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then, they have been trying to cause problems. I don't know what the

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answer is, but I do know that the Polish government seems to have good

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reasons for what they have been doing, and I frankly think the

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commission should investigate, but certainly the European Parliament,

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which is taking upon itself all of these clever investigations, based

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on the political approach, I think that is not the right forum for

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this. The reports are that the Law and Justice Party has replaced

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Constitutional law judges, and have tried to restore Poland to

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traditional values. Is that a worry? It is up for that Polish

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people to decide, it is not for anyone else who doesn't have a

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mandate to interfere. If the Polish people don't like it they will vote

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them out. The previous government was the one that stuffed the court

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with its own appointees. And that is the point that the Polish PM is

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making, but actually they are just trying to redress the balance,

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because the media and courts were packed with people from the previous

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government. Nothing wrong with that, is there? The problem here and I

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watched the debate is that many of my colleagues who feel that the

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commissioners have ruined this, as it did in Hungary, in addressing

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alleged breaches. The commission has a role, and we can do it and it is

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there, but does backfire when you have this kind of enormous theatre,

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where she got the last word, by the way. She put her hand up and said,

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please Mr President, can I have the last word for the sake of my nation?

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It has been a great play for the treaties and rule of law, and these

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breaches are of concern, alleged breaches, and they will be

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investigated by the commission. The commission ended up looking like the

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bad guys, she ended up looking like the heroine, and that is how it

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looked. Did it make you feel a bit queasy? I feel that this was

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probably not the best way to do it, this court of public opinion where

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you target an individual country. When they got Alexis Tsipras end it

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was like a show trial. They all get on their high horse... Does it have

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the desired effect? Yellow she is probably a hero. It has the opposite

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effect. She left happy and she came willingly. Timmerman's arguments

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were powerful. You sign up to these things, and there will be deviation

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from the law... But she comes... She wanted to come, that is the thing.

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Then you have Denmark looking at its asylum law. The problem is that you

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have many laws now that could be breaching treaties, so we have to

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get away of the commission examining it without making this kind of

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theatre, were it completely backfires. Now, it is time the

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latest in our series, Meet the Neighbours. Now we are looking at

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Romania, which joined in point 2007. Who would build a palace like this?

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The husband and wife dictated duo who ruled Romania for more than two

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decades. Now it is a country's Parliament, the biggest in the

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world, and apparently the largest administrative building on the

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planet. A tour guide role that the red carpet for me, after a mania's

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MPs gave us permission to film. The first thing you notice, it is like a

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museum for chandeliers. 5000 of them. It is sad that they got this

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idea of having this beautiful lights, there was a state visit in

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France in the 70s, when they had visited Versailles. And how about

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his and hers matching staircases? The steps were smaller than usual

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because the couple were quite short but like a big entrance. In this

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place, you can walk for miles. All that marble makes this the heaviest

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building in the world. Parliament is not sitting today, but Romania went

:22:50.:22:55.

through a political crisis last year. A fire in Bucharest nightclub,

:22:56.:23:02.

which claimed 60 lives, led to the resignation of a PM over allegations

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of epic corruption. Talking of epic, check out the ballroom. There is

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room for a Symphony Orchestra and you can get a sports car through the

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doors. How do you feel about this building and its vastness? I first

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thing that we didn't need such a building in those days. It was built

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with great effort, so that is what I need to appreciate for myself. The

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effort of the people who have worked for this building, as there were

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more than million people involved in this project. The urban myth is that

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Ceau?escu wanted the skylight to open so his helicopter could land in

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here. If he couldn't escape that way, there is always the spooky

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basement. Is it true that there is a nuclear bunker down here? Yes, it is

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true. Not only one, but two. Sadly, Top Gear beat us to it. They staged

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a rest and he once. And here is the last stop, the balcony with the

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specially lowered balcony so that Ceausescu looked nice and talk when

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he delivered addresses from here. Of course, he never did that, because

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his regime collapsed before the building was finished.

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That is enormous, that building! Do we underestimate how bad the

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histories of some of these newer members of the EU have been? How

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difficult it is for them to come into a club where there are

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countries like Britain, France and Germany? Yes, but the interesting

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thing is to see them recreating their history. I have noticed that

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particularly, people talking about the EU becoming a single block. As

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long as we have countries like Poland, the Czech Republic and

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Romania coming in, throwing off the Russian history and in some cases

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the German history before it, and creating their own real history

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again, and pride in their country, I think that is a good safeguard. Is

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it realistic to have countries that are so wide apart when the disparity

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seems to be so huge, not just in economic terms but in cultural terms

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as well? I was four when the Berlin Wall came down and I can't imagine

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the horrors of living under communism. I think whatever we have

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now is better than what they went through. If the people wanted to

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join the EU, that is for them, it is for the people to decide. It is

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variety, which I think is a good and positive thing about the EU. That is

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all we have time for, thank you to both of my

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